The police and the Swedish Migration Agency have the main responsibility for carrying out the deportations.

The Swedish Migration Agency for those who take place on a voluntary basis, the police for those who take place by force.

In connection with the goal of increasing the number of returns by 50 percent next year compared to 2021, the government wants to review the authorities' powers to be able to take coercive measures so that more deportations can be enforced.

From 2014 until today, just over 96,000 people who have received deportation decisions have returned to their home countries.

Over the entire period, about a quarter have been deported by force.

In the past year, forced departures have increased to about half, about 2,700 people.

- The background to the shift is that the return decreased sharply during the pandemic.

It has been difficult to carry out deportations by force, but also to carry out deportations of people who want to return voluntarily, due to flight problems and restrictions, says Anders Ygeman.

As many countries require returning persons to be co-tested, persons who are to be deported have been able to refuse by refusing to take samples, as Swedish legislation does not allow anyone to be tested against their will.

Proposals for mandatory measures

Therefore, the government will in a forthcoming return inquiry propose that in the event of socially dangerous diseases, it should be possible to force people to get tested.

The inquiry will also review the coercive possibilities that, above all, the police and the security police must have in order to check identity to an increased extent.

- It is about being able to search for, dispose of and search mobile phones and other digital media, says Minister of the Interior Morgan Johansson.

The Swedish Migration Agency's powers to be able to check identity and origin must also be reviewed.

It is, for example, about being able to get into phones, by forcing someone to unlock with the help of fingerprints or face recognition.

The investigation will be completed on 31 October 2023.